Ali: Xeno Wars
by Ali Wenstern
Summary: Sequel to Ali: Xenomorph Princess. Ali and Queen Emery are on Earth where humans live underground to escape the Hive already on Earth. While Ripley remains Ali's prime target, Ali comes to the shocking revelation that she's not the only one of her kind.
1. A New World

Emery hissed and came to a skidding halt. Ali stopped next to him and looked around. The dusty landscape still stretched for miles without any indication of ending. Here and there, Ali would see a run-down building, but other than that, there was no sign of civilization.

"Why are we stopping?" Ali asked.

Emery hissed again.

_People…nearby._

Ali was impressed with Emery's growth. His voice was getting stronger with each passing minute. Although he was still unable to speak in full sentences, it was better than the picture images that he had tried to show her in the beginning. The top of his head had grown somewhat in the pre-stages of the crest that it would soon become, and his body was getting bigger as well. Soon, he would no longer be a he, but a she.

"Where?" Ali asked.

_Below…ground._

"Why would they be there?"

_Do not…know._

"Well, we better find out."

_Better…to make…Hive first?_

"You know of a good location for one?"

Emery nodded and lifted the unconscious body of Johner higher up on his shoulder before setting off again. He moved swiftly, aiming for a rundown building. Ali ran ahead to read the faded red words on the rotted wood sign: _Peak Brown's Riverdale Orphanage._

"Here?" Ali asked.

Emery nodded and walked through the open doors. He moved through the hallways, making for a pre-located area. Ali studied the walls around her, she had never seen an orphanage before, although she had heard of them when she lived on LV-426, and she was slightly intrigued. She peeked her head into a couple of the rooms and saw desks and chairs in many of them. As they got deeper into the orphanage the chairs turned into beds. One of the rooms they passed was longer than the others and had long tables with chairs pushed neatly underneath them. Two stacks of plates where resting on the edge of one of the tables, covered in cobwebs and dust. Ali knew instantly what room this was just as her stomach let out a low grumble. She realized that she hadn't eaten anything since Emery had awoken her from the sleep chamber.

"You go on ahead and get everything set up the way you want, I need to eat," Ali said as she walked into the kitchen. Emery hissed over his shoulder and moved further into the orphanage.

Ali moved down the long tables to some cabinets on the other side. A scuffling sounded suddenly on the other side of the cabinets and Ali pressed her ear to the door. A heartbeat thudded quickly on the other side of the door and Ali pulled back with shock; a human. She hadn't expected to find one so soon. Instantly, her body went into defense mode and she prepared to attack.

_Wait,_ Ali thought, stopping herself, _His heartbeat._

Ali pressed her ear back to the door and listened closely. The quickened thud of the heartbeat wasn't one of shock or fear, it was a natural beat. Ali put her hand over her chest and could feel her own heartbeat thumping in perfect rhythm to the human's inside.

"This can't be," Ali said and she flung the door open.

A boy about a year younger than Ali cried out and backed up to the back of the pantry. Ali stared at the boy in shock, he had short black hair, as black as her own, and his eyes were the same dark blue. His nails weren't as long as Ali's, but they were the same color and sharpness.

The boy pressed his back further up against the wall, staring at Ali with frightened eyes. It was at that moment that Ali realized that this boy was like her; an alien child.

"Don't be afraid," Ali said, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The boy regarded Ali with a frightened expression before reaching over for a can on one of the shelves. He stretched out as far as he could reach and held it out for Ali. His eyes no longer held fear, but curiosity.

"Do you have a name?" Ali asked, taking the can and squatting down next to the boy.

"Devon," the boy answered. His voice was light and soft.

"What are you doing here by yourself, Devon?" Ali asked as she used her nails to cut into the top of the steel can. It was a can of pears and Ali took one of the halves out and popped it into her mouth.

"This is where I live."

"Here?!"

Devon nodded. "I've lived here for as long as I can remember."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Well, come with me. I'll look after you from now on," Ali said, reaching out to take Devon's hand.

Devon accepted Ali's hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet. Ali was aware of his tight grip as she led him out of the kitchen. She followed Emery's footprints in the thick dust to a door with stairs leading down. Ali ate the rest of the pears and tossed the can over her shoulder as she stepped down on the first step. Suddenly, Devon's hand pulled out of hers and she turned around in surprise. Devon was backing away from the entrance with a look of horror on his face.

"What's wrong, Devon?" Ali asked.

Devon only shook his head and stared at the opening in horror.

"Alright, suit yourself," Ali said and she turned away from Devon and walked down the stairs.

"Wait," Devon said and he hurried to Ali's side, "Don't leave me."

"Will you come down with me?" Ali asked.

Devon stared down into the dark and began to shake. "I'm getting a bad feeling. I sense something down there."

"That's just Emery."

_Ali? Is that you?_ Emery asked at that point. His voice had become more high pitched, yet didn't have the high ring of a true Queen.

"_Yes, Emery, it's me. I found something interesting."_

"Who's Emery?" Devon asked in bewilderment.

"You could hear me?"

"Yeah, you just said it, didn't you?" Devon asked.

"No, not out loud. I said it in my head."

"But, then how come I could hear you?"

"I'll explain later, there are some things I need to take care of first."

Ali started walking down the stairs into the basement. Devon hesitated at the top of the stairs before hurrying down to catch up to Ali. His small hand slid into Ali's and she jumped slightly. She felt a smile creep up and she looked down at the boy, realizing that she was happy she had finally found someone else like her. Suddenly, Devon's eyes widened again and the color drained from his face.


	2. The Past and Truth Revealed

* * *

Ali studied Devon's shocked face for a moment before following his gaze. She smiled at what she saw. Emery was supported in the air by strands of corded resin. He, no, _she_ had a largely formed crest on her head; however it wasn't full size yet. The egg sack had not been formed yet so Ali knew that there would be no new aliens for a while. Emery looked over at Ali and flashed her clear teeth and let out a deep, resonating hiss.

_Who is that human?_ Emery asked.

Ali took Devon's hand and dragged him closer to Emery. Devon looked up with fear at Emery, but he didn't pull away from Ali. Suddenly, Ali watched the fear drain from his face.

"I'm Devon," Devon said, squaring his shoulders.

Emery hissed in surprise. _You can hear me?_

"This is what I wanted to show you," Ali put in, "he's like me, I think."

_How did you come to be like this?_

"I don't know, I was abandoned when I was three, I think," Devon said.

_Hmm, perhaps I could find out,_ Emery said, _Would you mind if I looked into your past?_

"What good would that do? I can't remember anything about my past."

_Ah, yes, you may not remember, but those memories are still there, in the farthest corner of your mind. If you let me, I can access those memories._

"Okay, if you want," Devon said, skeptical.

_Close your eyes._

Devon did as he was told and Ali watched as his face became totally relaxed. She wondered what Emery was seeing, and if Devon could see it too. Just then, everything around her went black, as if the lights had been turned off. Ali spun around in fear, wondering what was going on.

_Fear not Ali, I want you to see this memory. I assume you never knew the manner of how you were born?_

"_No."_ Ali answered.

_Then allow me to show you. I think you'll find this interesting._

"_Okay."_

Suddenly, a room came into focus, but it was unlike any room Ali had seen before. The walls weren't made out of brick or metal; instead they seemed to be made out of some weird colored rock. There was a bed in the middle of the room with two men standing above it. A woman was bound to a metal bed, screaming and trashing. The doctors were yelling frantically at each other while trying to hold the woman down. Ali moved around them to get a better look at the woman. She had thin features and wiry black hair. Ali couldn't figure out the eye color because the woman had them squeezed shut as she screamed and twisted. However, there was no doubt as to who's mother this was; Devon's features were almost exactly the same.

"What the heck--?!" one of the doctors shouted and he backed away from the woman.

Ali looked down at the woman's giant, bloated stomach, which was what held the doctor's interest in the first place, and watched as it bulged upwards.

"Hey, get back over here and help--," the second doctor started to say just as the bulge on the woman's stomach burst open, spraying the room with blood and gore.

A scream rose up in the air along with a dead tone beep, but the scream wasn't coming from the woman, she was dead, it was coming from the woman's stomach. The doctor who was closest to the woman, the one covered in the most blood, reached down to pull out a screaming baby. He took it over to a small side table and began wiping off the blood.

"It's a boy," he said.

The image faded out with the doctor holding baby Devon, the other doctor who was backed up against the wall in horror, and the dead mother. The next image came into focus with a similar room, except there was no bed and no doctors. There was only a little boy, a three year old Devon, sitting in the corner. His dark eyes were red from crying and there was a puddle of blood at his feet, shining in the lamp light, and more dripping off his fingers. A door opened and a two people, a man and a woman, walked inside. The man was looking harshly at the boy, but the woman's eyes were soft. Devon began crying harder as the adults approached him. Ali couldn't help but wonder what Devon had done.

"Devon," she said, her voice soft and caring.

"Don't talk to him like that!" the man shouted.

"He's just a child!"

"Who has committed murder!"

So that was it. Well, it certainly explained the blood and Devon's crying. But who did he kill? And why?

"I didn't mean to!" Devon cried in his little boy's voice.

The woman's eyes were soft and she opened her mouth to speak, but the man interrupted her.

"Of course you didn't," the man said sarcastically. "It's not like your existence has been a threat to this colony since the day you were born!"

"Stop it! Just stop it! He's still just a kid" The woman pleaded.

Devon was crying harder than ever now. He tried to wipe away his tears, but only managed to smear blood across his cheeks.

"Kid or not, the council has already spoken. The boy will be banished to the upper world and will never be allowed to return.

_Upper world? What does that mean?_ Ali wondered.

The scene faded with the man dragging the woman out of the room as she sent a sympathetic look over her shoulder at Devon and was replaced with the walls of the basement.

Once the real world had returned, Ali turned to Emery. "What did they mean by 'upper world'?"

_I'm not--_, Emery started to say.

"They mean this place," Devon said, "And everything else above ground."

"So that means the rooms in your memories were _under_ground?"

_It would appear so,_ Emery said, _The question is why?_

"I think I can guess," Devon said.

_Yes?_ Emery asked, turning her head to stare at him so fast that he was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Well, um, I'm just guessing, but I think they're hiding from something."

"Yes," Ali said, staring intently at Devon and coming to the same conclusion. "Other aliens."


	3. Growth

Ali punched the wall of the Hive, the resin cracking and crumbling beneath her hand. Emery had searched out for another Queen and had just confirmed the existence of another Hive.

"This is just perfect!" Ali screeched, punching the wall again, "not only do I have to worry about destroying Ripley, I have to worry about another Hive?!"

"_Does she always act like this when she gets bad news?_" Devon asked Emery.

_I do not know. I have only known her for a short time. All I know is her hatred for Ripley; every time she thinks of it is like her vision goes red with anger and she has flashbacks of trying to kill Ripley many times,_ Emery answered.

"_Both of you realize that I can still hear every word you're saying, right?"_ Ali asked.

"You've been pacing and punching walls for half an hour now! You need to calm down!"

"How can I be calm?!" Ali screamed.

"Well," Devon said, startled, "It's not that bad. We still have a chance to build up this Hive. And I don't think they know about us yet."

"You're right," Ali said, taking a deep breath, "We can still come back from this."

_You can start by getting me human hosts, _Emery said.

* * *

The Hive grew quickly, with its first alien being born from Johner, and the months flew by. Ali took Devon with her whenever she went hunting however he always hung back, still afraid of getting into the mix. Ali took care to take humans sparingly and avoiding the places where the scent of the foreign aliens was strong. Within no time, the Hive had reached fifty members, and still growing. The other Hive had remained oblivious the whole time, not suspecting the threat of another Hive. Ali had long since moved her thoughts from it to Ripley, wondering where she was now, if Call as still with her, and if she was preparing to fight Ali.

"I need to teach you to fight," Ali said to Devon one day.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's a chance that we may have to fight another Hive and, later, Ripley. You need to be able to fight and defend yourself, or you will be no good to me."

"Aren't I a little young to be fighting?" Devon asked.

"I'm only a year older than you, not much different," Ali answered.

Devon shrugged nervously, "Okay."

"You'll first lesson will start tomorrow," Ali said.

The training lessons began slowly; Devon was like a delicate bird and was always easily overpowered by the aliens he was training with. Because Ali refused to let the aliens go easy on him, Devon's small body was constantly covered with bruises and scrapes. Eventually, however, he started improving, getting quicker, and he was starting to dodge the blows. Within no time, the days became weeks, the weeks months, and the months, years.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I've had a lot of other things going on....but don't worry, there will be more in the next chapter.**

**~Ali Wenstern  
**


	4. 10 Years Later

* * *

Devon crouched down under the swinging tail and kicked his leg out, spun it around, and knocked the alien off its feet. It screeched as it hit the ground and scrambled back to its feet, turning to make another strike.

"Enough!" Ali said, stepping forward.

Devon jumped back quickly and turned to face Ali. Ten years had passed since Ali had discovered him in the orphanage and he had grown a lot. His boyish features had hardened into handsome features of a young man. He was tall, taller than Ali, and slender, his body laced with hidden muscles. His hair was longer, but it didn't come down past his earlobes. He wore a tight fitting white polo shirt with black horizontal stripes and black cargo pants that he had taken from an empty room on a hunt. Ali had also grown in the ten years since she had landed on the foreign planet. Her childlike features had filled out, giving way to stunning beauty. She allowed her hair to grow out, keeping it at her waist. The only way she could manage it was by keeping it in a thick braid which she would drape over her shoulder. Her voice, however, remained light and feathery; the voice of a child. She wore an outfit that she had stolen from one of her victims, it was a black halter top with black pants; the girl whom they had belonged to was going on a big date when Ali took her. Neither Ali nor Devon wore shoes.

The alien Devon had been training with for the past three years backed away and walked to stand next to Ali.

"Great lesson," Devon said, smiling at Ali.

Ali nodded and made her way to the basement door. "You need to work on your attacks more; you still seem to be hesitating."

"I know, I just can't get that final attack thing down, I don't know what my problem is."

"_I_ do," Ali said, "You're afraid."

"That's not true!" Devon shouted.

"Yes it is," Ali said as she opened the door to the basement and walked down the stairs. "You're too afraid to take another life."

_What are you two fighting about this time?_ Emery asked.

"_Same thing as always,"_ Ali said.

"_She thinks that I keep chickening out,"_ Devon said.

"_I know you do."_

"That's a lie!" Devon shouted.

_Enough! Both of you stop it!_ Emery's voice thundered in their heads. A couple of the aliens twitched as they felt the fury in their Queen's voice.

"_Sorry,"_ Ali said.

"_Yeah, me too,"_ Devon added.

_Now, how about you go out hunting? It will give you both time to clear your head!_

"Fine," Ali and Devon said at the same time.

Ali turned sharply on her heel and stomped up the stairs again. Devon stomped up behind her and it wasn't until she was at the top of the stairs that she realized he was mocking her. She groaned angrily and ran down the hallway to the front doors. Devon chuckled behind her and ran after her, gaining. He ended up beating her to the front door and out onto the dark, sandy world.

"I win!" Devon shouted victoriously.

"It's not a very fair race, if you're four feet taller than me!" Ali shouted back.

"I'm not _that_ tall!"

"Whatever, close enough."

"Aw, Ali, don't get all moody on me," Devon said, patting Ali on the head.

"Don't touch me!" Ali said, batting Devon's hand away.

Devon just laughed and started walking. "Let's just get this over with!"

"What? Now you're thinking this as just a chore?" Ali asked, taking quick strides to match Devon's long ones.

"No, not all the time; just when Emery wants us out from underneath her."

"Oh, just deal with it!" Ali said.

"Fine, I will!" Devon retorted back.

Ali rolled her eyes. "We're splitting up again."

"Aw, come on! Why?"

"I want to hunt by myself!"

"Don't you enjoy my company?" Devon asked, draping an arm around Ali's shoulder.

"Only when you shut up and don't touch me!"

"My, my, we certainly aren't in a good mood today," Devon teased, "Guess you do need some time to yourself."

"Oh, thanks for being so considerate, Devon," Ali said, sarcasm dripping off her words like thick resin.

"No problem," Devon replied with a grin.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they got to the manhole cover in the middle of a deserted street. Ali shifted the manhole cover aside with ease and dropped down lightly into the hole. Devon dropped down after her and automatically turned to the right end tunnel.

"See you later," he said.

"First one to back to the Hive gets to sleep behind Emery's crest!"

The spot right behind Emery's crest was the most comfortable spot to sleep and Ali and Devon constantly made contests to try and decide who would get to sleep there, and who had to sleep on the floor.

"Oh, it's so on!" Devon said and he took off down the tunnel.

Ali laughed and ran down her end of the tunnel, determined to keep up her winning streak. The tunnels were empty; no sign of life. Not that Ali expected to find any, the people usually stayed deeper underground; only the insane would venture this far into waiting hands. Eventually, the walls turned from the concrete pipes of the sewers into natural rock walls where the people had tunneled deeper to make their homes. Lights in the ceiling of the tunnel lit the way and illuminated several doors, but there were no people around. Suddenly, a strange scent filled Ali's nostrils, making her eyes water. It was a scent she had come to memorize and avoid; the other Hive's aliens.

Ali stopped in her tracks and peered down the hallway, but nothing moved. She focused her attention on the smell and noticed that it wasn't that strong; any alien that had been here moved on long ago. She tracked the scent to a room down the hall and cautiously made her way to it. There was a thick trail of blood coming from underneath the door, leading off further down the hallway. Ali opened the door slowly and looked into the room.

Automatic lights flickered on and illuminated the gory scene. Dark blood was splattered across the walls in violent spatters. Ali's eyes continued to move through the room and she saw the bodies of two women. There were claw marks and chunks missing from their bodies in multiple places and both of them had identical gaping holes in their heads; holes that could only be made by powerful inner jaws. There must have been a third person in the room because the trail in the hall continued into the room, cutting through the blood of the two women, and stopping in a corner. Ali grimaced and shut the door; she hated it when the other aliens got to the people first. It meant that she would have to hunt deeper into the underground city to find prey. She sighed and continued down through the tunnel.


	5. Surpise Attack

* * *

As Ali walked further, the tunnels got bigger and more doors appeared. The sound of voices floated up from deeper in the tunnels where the city was located. She decided that this was far enough and she went to one of the doors, opening it slowly. The room on the other side of the door was a large room with row after row of wooden benches. A chapel. Devon had told Ali about these, people came to pray to their God, asking for help or guidance. She grinned and stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind her. The room was deserted except for a dark shape moving near the front. It was a man, and by the smell of him, he had been drinking. Ali's grin widened and she made her way towards the man. As she got nearer however, she stopped and covered her nose with her hand; the man reeked. She was almost going to risk going further towards the city, even though that would take her longer. But the thought of Devon winning the bet because she couldn't get over the smell of her victim was enough to get her moving again. She moved slowly until she was right behind the man, then she pounced.

She landed on the man's back and pulled him to the ground. He cursed loudly and fought against Ali. He struck at her with his grimy hands, knocking Ali off him and managing to scrape her cheek, but not enough to draw blood. He scrambled away from her and jumped to his feet, running towards the door. Ali hissed in annoyance at the sting on her cheek. However much she loved her victims fighting back, she hated it when they hurt her. And when they tried to run away. She gave chase and tackled the man again, bringing him back down to the ground. This time, before he could try to attack her again, she grabbed his head with both of her hands and slammed him into the hardwood floor. His eyes went blank and he stopped struggling, a pool of blood forming around his head. Ali quickly checked the man's pulse and smiled when she detected it beating faintly. She got to her feet before bending down to pick up the man. Suddenly, something large slammed into her back and sent her skidding across the floor.

Ali jumped to her feet quickly and turned to see what had attacked her. It was an alien. The scent on it told Ali that it wasn't one from her Hive, not like the fact that it attacked her was clue enough. She wondered how it had managed to get in since the door had been closed, and, more importantly, how come she had been unable to smell it before it attacked. Ali's eyes drifted slowly down to the unconscious man.

_Of course!_ Ali thought, _The vile scent of the man must have masked the scent of the alien. That's the only way it could have been able to catch me by surprise._

The alien screeched, forcing Ali to return her gaze to it. Its tail swung back in forth as it studied Ali. For the first time in her life, Ali was at a loss of what to do; she had never encountered an enemy alien before. During fighting training, the aliens would never launch an attack with lethal accuracy at her or Devon, but the enemy wouldn't have a problem with injuring her. Probably the best thing to do was to kill it as fast as possible to prevent it from getting back to the Queen. But before Ali could move, the alien took off towards the door.

"Oh no you don't!" Ali screamed, giving chase.

She was almost upon the alien when it turned around and swung its tail up to smack Ali in the chest. The force was enough to send her all the way to the front of the chapel where she crashed into the wooden altar. She collapsed at the foot of the altar, pain flaring up on her back and stomach. The alien screeched victoriously and charged at Ali. Ali struggled to her feet as the alien neared her. She braced herself as the tail swung at her and she managed to grab it. The alien hissed in annoyance and lifted its tail up in an attempt to shake Ali off. Ali allowed herself to be pulled up into the air, waiting until she was over the alien before letting go and falling on top of it. The alien hissed in surprise and Ali grinned in triumph.

Suddenly, sharp pain stabbed through Ali's shoulder and she glanced down to see the tip of the alien's barb coming out of her shoulder. The pain was excruciating, it burned all the way down her arm, and over into her chest. Her arm became a dead weight at her side and her vision was flooded with twinkling black dots that shifted around in front of her eyes. She slipped off the alien's back and collapsed on the ground, barely hearing the sounds of sizzling as her blood burned through the ground. She knew that she was close to unconsciousness, and it seemed the alien knew as well. It pulled its lips back in a devilish grin as it stalked Ali slowly, savoring the moment. As it raised its tail to deliver the final blow, a surge of adrenaline surged through Ali and she found herself pouncing on the alien. She grabbed its head with her good arm and twisted it sharply to the side. There was a sickening cracking sound as the alien's head twisted against its natural rotation and the exoskeleton on its neck cracked, spraying acidic blood everywhere. Ali moved quickly to get her human victim out of the way of the acidic spray. The alien's body continued to twitch as Ali dragged the human with her good arm to the door and out into the hallway.

The trek back to the Hive was long and tiresome: Ali's arm was still numb, although the bleeding had stopped, her stomach ached from where the alien's tail had hit her, and her back was sore from where she had hit the altar. Not to mention the dead weight coming from her victim, whom she had to drag by the collar of his shirt after she dislocated his shoulder while pulling him along. Finally, as the light from the sun began casting shadows across the land, she reached the orphanage and made her way down to the Hive.

"What took you so long, slowpoke?" Devon taunted the moment Ali entered the Hive.

"Shut up!" Ali shouted and she dropped the man at her feet.

An alien moved up to move the man into position for a second stage. It put it next to Devon's victim, who was in the process of being impregnated by a second stage.

"Ali, what's wrong?" Devon asked.

"Nothing!" Ali said and she turned away from him.

Devon let out a loud gasp and grabbed Ali by her good shoulder. "Ali!"

"Don't touch me!" Ali screamed, swinging her fist at Devon.

"Ali, are you okay?" Devon asked, catching her hand and holding onto her wrist tightly.

"I'm fine!"

_Ali._

"What?!" she screamed.

_You are hurt._ Emery spoke gently.

"I'm fine!" Ali insisted and she tried to pull her hand out of Devon's, "Let me go!"

"No, you're coming with me," Devon said and he dragged Ali back up the stairs and into the main hallway.


	6. Worthless Emotions

Devon dragged Ali down the hallway and to one of the girl's bathrooms. Once inside he let her go.

"What was that for?" Ali demanded, rubbing her wrist.

"This," Devon said and he pointed over Ali's shoulder.

Ali sighed and looked over her shoulder to see a large bathroom mirror, grimy with dirt, taking up the whole wall behind her. That was when she saw what had freaked out Devon and Emery. A long, thick, yellow and green bruise stretched across her entire back. Her upper shoulder had a large hole from where the alien's tail had pierced her and the area around it was swollen and black.

"What happened?" Devon asked.

"I was attacked by an alien from the other Hive, nothing to worry about," Ali said. She turned her body to face the mirror and lifted the front of her shirt slightly to see the bruise that had formed on her stomach.

"Nothing to worry about? Are you crazy?!" Devon demanded.

"No."

"Look at you, you're a mess!"

"I'm fine!"

"Why won't you let me worry about you?"

"Because you don't need to."

"Look, I care about you a lot. But you treat me as if I'm nothing."

"I consider you a friend," Ali said. She poked the bruise on her stomach lightly, wincing as she did.

"Second to the aliens."

"And?"

"Why won't you let anyone in?"

Ali rolled her eyes. "We are not having this discussion again!"

"I love you, Ali," Devon shouted.

Ali glared at Devon through the mirror. "Human emotions like happiness and joy are ones that I rarely feel, but _love_—"she said the word with spite and hatred "—is the worst because—,"

"—it makes you weak, I know, you've told me before, but still—!"

"No!" Ali screamed, turning to face Devon. "I am not human, it's bad enough that I look like one, I don't want to be tied down like one with human emotions!"

"I'm just like you, Ali," Devon said, "I'm the only one like you in the world."

"No," Ali said in a quiet voice, "You are not like me at all."

"What does that mean? What's different between you and me?"

Ali's lips parted in a small smile. "You have human emotions."

She left him standing in the middle of the bathroom, mouth gaping open and speechless.

* * *

**Yeah, I know it's another short chapter! **

**~Ali Wenstern  
**


	7. Ambushed

Ali was so furious at Devon that she stormed around the orphanage for several minutes before making her way back to the Hive. Emery turned her head as Ali walked down the stairs.

_Devon's human has awakened._ She said.

Ali grinned and walked over to the man. Since walking around hadn't calmed her down, she decided she had to take her anger out on something. And the human was the perfect thing.

"Good Morning!" Ali said cheerfully.

"Where am I?" the man asked.

"In an alien Hive. Surely you've heard of them before. That's why you're living underground, isn't it?"

"No, you're lying!" The man said in hysterics, "This kind of stuff can't happen to me!"

"Oh, well, that's too bad," Ali said, noticing Devon descending the stairs and moving off into a corner, "it did."

"God, please," the man pleaded, looking up at the ceiling, "Help me!"

Ali burst out laughing and the man stared at her in shock. "You actually praying to your god to help you?!"

"What?" the man asked.

"Do you really think that there's anyone out there that's going to come and save you?"

"God saves his people," The man said.

Ali nearly doubled over in laughter. "Do you really believe that there's a god? Think about this; if there is a god, why would someone like me exist? Do you really think that your 'merciful' god would allow someone like me walk this earth?"

"You, boy!" the man asked, ignoring Ali and moving his head to stare at Devon. "You're not the same as her! Please, help me!"

"Yes, Devon," Ali said, turning to face him, "You're not like me, you have your emotions."

Devon said nothing. He was leaning up against the Hive wall, with his right leg propped up against the wall as well. His arms were folded tightly across his chest and he stared at the ground. His long hair kept his face in shadows, preventing Ali from seeing his expressions.

"You aren't like her!" the man insisted, "You can still turn around and do the right thing. God forgives those who act for forgiveness!"

Devon again said nothing, but Ali saw his hand clench tighter at his arm. Ali grinned when she realized that this was torturing Devon just as much as it was torturing the man.

"Yes, Devon, god forgives the sinners. You can get forgiveness if you save that man right there," Ali said.

The man started praying some sort of prayer, eyes closed and lips moving at high speeds.

"Go ahead," Ali said, "Pray all you want, it won't do you any good. You're going to die. Maybe you can ask your god why he abandoned you when you--."

A five fingered slap came sharply against Ali's cheek, snapping her head back. Her hand flew to her face as the skin burned from the force of the strike. She looked up to see Devon had moved from the wall and was standing right next to her. His hands were clenched tightly into fists and they shook with fury. Ali was struck speechless and could only stare at Devon in shock. But suddenly, the man in the cocoon let out a tortured scream and threw his head back in agony. Ali's shock vanished and a dark smile crept up at the corners of her mouth as the man let out another scream. A loud, splintering crack filled the air as the man's rib cage snapped and something inside of him forced its way out into the world. The man's body was still twitching when the third stage crawled, screeching, out of it.

Ali was in a better mood after the third stage was born from her victim. She sat in a corner of the Hive, stroking the third stage's head gently as it rested in her lap. She eventually got bored and rose from the floor, allowing the third stage to scamper off into the darkness, making her way to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Devon asked.

Ali didn't respond. She snapped her fingers and a Runner raced forward and came to a skidding halt next to Ali. It waved its tail in anticipation as Ali climbed up gracefully on its back.

"You've been looking for her for months," Devon said. "You're not going to find her."

"I don't care. I just need to do something to get my mind off of _you_!" Ali said and the Runner took off up the stairs.

* * *

Ali kicked a loose pebble at her feet as she studied the barren wasteland. The vast brown sandy world spread out as far as she could see, Ripley could be anywhere. The hardest part was that Ripley and Call seemed to be everywhere, both of their scents were constantly picking up in different areas. But no matter how fast Ali got to the location of the scent, there would be no sign of the woman or the android. After many months of endless searching, it was getting frustrating.

But, now, Ali couldn't even pick up a faint smell. She decided to call off the hunt after three days of no luck.

"Come on," Ali said, walking back to the Runner, "Let's get back home."

She climbed up on the Runner's back and it took off with a screech. It sped across over the ground, barely touching it, as it raced home. Ali wasn't paying attention to its path, she was thinking about Ripley. She came to the conclusion that Ripley was hiding from her, too scared to come out and face her. Well, sooner or later, Ali would find her and flush her out. There's only so far that Ripley could go to escape, and it would be there, at the end of the line, that Ali would find her. Suddenly, the Runner screeched and came to a stop, almost throwing Ali over its head. Ali looked up over the Runner's head to see what it had stopped for. Her mouth dropped open when she saw four aliens, obviously enemy, standing in a line directly in her path. They obviously weren't there by accident, which meant the Queen knew that Ali's Hive existed.

Ali dismounted off the Runner slowly and stood next to it, studying the Warriors that blocked her path. They hissed threatening at her and swung their tails back and forth. Then, without warning, they jumped forward and charged towards Ali and the Runner. The Runner moved in front of Ali in an attempt to protect her and was hit by the force of three Warriors. One of them had managed to get around the Runner and moved to tackle Ali while she was distracted. But she managed to dodge it and she moved to help the Runner. It was screeching in agony as the three Warriors clawed and tore at it; weakening it. Ali grabbed one of the Warriors and it hissed in shock as she threw it off the Runner's back. One of the Warriors released the Runner and jumped towards Ali, but she twisted out of the way and struck it at the base of its neck; it dropped to the ground, dead.

Suddenly, something slammed into Ali's back and she realized the Warrior that she had first thrown off her and managed to get back to its feet and launch an attack while Ali was killing the other Warrior. She shoved it off in anger and sent it hurling across the sand. It recovered more quickly than the last time and came back for a third attack. This time, Ali was waiting for it and she dodged out of the way. The Warrior hissed in annoyance and swung its tail out, catching Ali around her legs and knocking them out from underneath her. She tried to roll into an upright position, but she forgot about the bruise on her back and it flared up with pain. She screamed in pain as the Warrior jumped on top of her. It hissed and a demonic grin spread across its face as it studied Ali. Then, after several seconds of gazing, it hissed and pressed its clawed hand on Ali's shoulder wound. Ali twisted underneath the Warrior in agony and tried to throw it off, but it remained firmly on top of her. Suddenly, as Ali was being swallowed up by the fiery pain, she felt herself being lifted into the air. She fought weakly at whatever it was that held her, but the pain had spread through her arms, numbing them, and she stopped struggling. The pain spiked and blackness clouded her vision and she went limp.


	8. Counterattack

* * *

"Ali? Ali? Wake up!"

The voice sounded so far away. Ali moaned in her sleep and tried to push away from the sound of the voice. But it felt like strong arms were wrapped around her, forcing her to resurface from the darkness. A face looming over her was the first thing she saw and as her vision came more into focus she was able to recognize the face; Devon.

"Devon?" Ali asked. Her voice sounded so weak, like she hadn't used it in a long time. "What happened?"

"You were attacked," Devon said, "by the aliens from the other Hive."

He shifted slightly and something let out a squeaking noise. Ali looked down to see what she was lying on and found that it was a bed.

"I remember that, but what happened right after that; when I blacked out?"

"The Runner who was with you managed to kill the ones that was attacking it and had to chase after the one taking you--."

"Wait," Ali interrupted, "They tried to take me?

"Yeah, their Queen probably wanted to capture you."

"So how long have I been out?"

"Only a couple of days," Devon answered.

"Great," Ali said, getting to her feet.

"Ali, sit down! You're not better yet!"

"I heal better when I'm moving around," Ali answered.

"Just sit down!" Devon shouted angrily.

The force in Devon's voice startled Ali and she dropped back down to the bed.

_Devon is right, Ali_, Emery spoke.

"_Oh, so you're against me too?"_

_You know that I could never be against you; you were the one that helped me escape the Auriga. However, you will do Devon no good if you are in too much pain to fight._

"_Fight?"_ Ali asked.

"_Yes, fight,"_ Devon put in.

_Devon and I did some thinking while you were unconscious and we have decided to launch a counterattack on the Hive._

"_Alright, I like the sound of that!" _Ali said gleefully.

"Great," Devon said aloud, "now lie down so you can be in top condition to fight."

Ali rolled her eyes, but obeyed Devon's instructions and lay back down on the bed. "So do you know the location of the Hive?"

"Yes, I discovered a few days ago; while some of the aliens from it were returning from a hunt."

"And what was the game plan once we got inside the Hive?"

"I was thinking killing everything in our sight," Devon answered.

Ali tipped back her head and laughed. "Do you think you'll be able to kill them? Or will your love for life make you soft?"

"Shut up! I'm not going to hesitate."

"Good because when it comes down to fighting the real thing, hesitating is going to get you killed. And we don't want that now do we? I still want to get some use out of you before you expire."

"Gee thanks," Devon said with sarcasm. "You know, I have feelings too!"

Ali just grinned and rolled her eyes. "Whatever! Just let me know when I'm 'okay' to fight."

_Do not worry. We will be sure to tell you_. Emery's voice sounded amused.

* * *

After a few days of forced resting, Devon allowed Ali to get up and start testing her strength; to see if she was ready to fight. Luckily, Ali's shoulder had completely healed and the bruises on her back and stomach had long vanished.

"Am I good enough?" Ali asked with mock worry.

"Oh shut up!" Devon said, rolling his eyes before speaking in a serious voice, "there's still much we need to learn about fighting an actual battle."

"Maybe for you, but I've already had to go up against the enemy twice. I think I've caught on to their fighting pattern."

"Would you mind sharing?" Devon asked.

"Basically, their aim wasn't based on killing, mainly it was incapacitating."

"Right, but that was when you were outside the Hive. If we're going to be inside the Hive, attacking them, are they still going to be worrying about incapacitating us?"

"No, I guess not," Ali thought, "but they will probably fight the same way: short attacks that do some damage, backing off to let the damage seep in, then go in for another attack that will completely incapacitate."

"Alright, so all we need to worry about is making sure that they can't get in a hit."

"And," Ali added, "make sure they don't sneak up behind you or attempt a sneaky move. That's how they've gotten me both times already."

"Got it," Devon answered.

_I wish for you to take a few of my Warriors along with you. They might be able to give you some form of protection so you can get to the Queen_, Emery added.

"That's a good idea," Devon said.

But Ali was more hesitant. "I don't want them getting hurt."

_You saved my life and helped me become a Queen. Because of that my Warriors are willing to do whatever it takes to protect you._

"Ali, don't worry, they're going to be fine," Devon said.

Ali sighed, she wasn't going to try to fight with both Devon and Emery. But that wasn't the only thing that was on her mind. "There's something else I'm worried about."

_What is it?_

"Aren't we going to be vulnerable to the Queen's control once we're in her Hive?"

"Oh," Devon said, "yeah, didn't think about that."

_I am sure that I will be able to keep her out, however I am not sure how long I can do something like that. You might have to end things quickly; there might not be enough time to play around._

Ali sighed in disappointment. "Fine."


	9. Infiltration

* * *

The Hive turned out to be very well hidden; only someone who knew what to look for would find it. It was in a building similar to Emery's Hive, but with a single room that contained no doors or windows. When Ali first saw the blank walls she sent Devon a look of confusion.

"Are you sure it's here?" she asked.

"Yep," Devon answered, "It's here."

"Where is it?"

"I'm guessing this room was first used as room to hide illegal goods or something," Devon said as he walked in straight lines across the hardwood floor. The six Warriors that had accompanied them were walking alongside Devon, swinging their heads back and forth.

"What are you doing?" Ali asked, getting annoyed.

"Just be patient! It took me forever to find this place!" Devon answered.

Suddenly one of the Warriors stopped and hissed at the ground. Devon walked over to where the Warrior had stopped and dropped to his knees. He nodded and the Warrior slashed at the floor directly in front of Devon.

"What are you doing?" Ali asked.

"Check it out," Devon replied.

Ali moved over next to him and crouched down. She was surprised to see a passage way right where the Warrior had slashed. The scent of aliens told Ali that this was indeed the entrance to the Hive.

"Like I said, the room behind that wall was used for hiding stuff, this trapdoor leads into that room from underneath. It was the most ideal area for the aliens to start their Hive because the humans wouldn't have been able to find it even if they tried to fight back."

"Neat," Ali said in amazement, "But this could turn out to be a bad thing."

"What are you talking about?" Devon asked.

"Well, think of it this way, all they have to do is step in front of the exit and there will be no chance of us escaping."

"So what do we do?"

Ali grinned. "Risk it all!"

Two Warriors went down first and Devon followed behind them, behind him came two more Warriors, then Ali, and lastly the remaining two aliens. As they walked through the downward sloping tunnel, Ali was consciously aware of the unnatural silence and she called out to Devon.

"_Are you noticing the stillness?"_ she asked.

"_Yeah, kinda strange, don't you think?"_

"_We need to be on our guard, we may be walking into a trap."_

"_Got it."_ Devon replied.

The further they progressed, the more Ali was sure that they were walking into a trap. They hadn't run into a single enemy alien, nor could they sense any nearby. Eventually, the tunnel began sloping upwards as they moved towards the center of the Hive and the Queen's chamber. The chamber resembled Orla's chamber on board the Auriga than it did Emery's chamber; the walls were coated with light colored resin, covering the entire room, with the Queen resting in the middle of the room, raised up high on her throne. She turned her head to stare at Ali, Devon, and the Warriors as they entered the Hive. She hissed and Ali felt a buzz at the back of her head; the Queen was trying to reach their minds. The Warriors shrieked in unison as they felt the buzz as well.

_Ignore her,_ Emery's voice commanded, _It makes it even more difficult for me to block her thoughts if you respond to her attempts._

"_Don't worry, I wasn't planning on it," _Ali responded, blocking out the buzz.

"_Easy for you to say, that buzz is annoying!"_ Devon complained.

"_Just think about something else."_

The Queen hissed in anger when she realized that she was unable to enter their minds.

"Get ready," Ali said.

Suddenly, dozens of aliens came out of the walls and hidden passageways and ran to the small group. Ali ducked as the first of the aliens tried to take her out with its tail and she kicked the alien in the chest, knocking it back. Something bumped into her back and she started to react before she realized it was Devon. She pressed her back up against his, to keep a surprise attack from coming at her rear and waited for another alien to make its move. The six Warriors then moved forward and started taking much of the assault, trying to keep Devon and Ali safe. But, two aliens managed to get by and darted forward towards their target: Ali.


	10. Takeover

"Ali!" Devon cried out just as Ali was hit from the side and sent skidding across the ground.

Ali got up quickly just an alien tried to use its claws to take off her head. However, more aliens surged towards her and she readied herself for their attack. They attacked her in groups of twos, coming at her front and back at the same time and hardly giving her any time to recover from the previous attack. As she began to feel worn down from the continuous attacks, the buzz returned in her head and she realized what they were trying to do; weaken her mind.

"Devon!" Ali shouted over the alien's harsh hissing.

"I'm a little busy!" Devon replied.

Ali couldn't even see Devon around the aliens that were encircling her, but it sounded like he was doing okay.

"What do you want?" Devon asked.

"She's trying to wear us down," Ali replied, "The weaker we are, the easier it will be to get inside our heads."

"Right, I'll keep that in mind." After that, Devon stopped talking as another wave of aliens came at him.

Ali returned to her fighting as well, but it was getting harder for her to hold off the aliens and keep the thoughts of the Queen out of her head. But the buzz was getting louder and louder and she was having a difficult time keeping her thoughts off the Queen.

"_Emery? I'm having some problems!"_

_I know_, A voice responded, but it wasn't the voice of Emery.

At that moment, Ali's body locked up, something now had control of her body and was keeping her from moving.

"_Who are you?"_ Ali demanded.

_Who do you think I am? I am the Queen of this Hive,_ The voice responded, _My name is Aisha._

"_That can't be possible,"_ Ali said, _"How did you get past Emery?"_

_You mean your Queen? It was not that difficult. While you were fighting, your mind was drifting further and further away from your Queen's protective thoughts and straight into mine._

"_What about Devon?"_

_He is holding out pretty strong, in fact, I think the barrier around his mind is strengthening; your Queen must have realized she lost you and is trying to protect the other one even more now._

"Ali?"

The voice sounded so far away, but Ali was sure that it was Devon's. Perhaps Emery had warned Devon that she couldn't talk to Ali anymore and Devon would be able to free her.

_Do not get your hopes up, child. The other child will not be getting to you anytime soon. And by the time he does, it will be too late._

"_What are you talking about?"_

Aisha didn't respond in words, instead, she responded with a powerful mental attack that forced Ali to her knees. Ali rose to her feet slowly and attempted to get barriers up around her mind to prevent further attacks, but the second attack came too fast for her to respond and she clutched her head in agony. She tried to ignore the pain and focused her attention on getting Emery back, but the pain was too much and she couldn't concentrate. The pain sent her to her knees again and she remained there, curled in a ball, and clutching her head between her hands.

_You will not be able to resist for much longer_, Aisha said with triumph.

Ali knew she was right as the pain started to slowly fade away, but as it did, everything else faded away as well: the sounds of the battle, the cries of the dying Warriors, and Devon's frantic shouting. All of them were fading away and being replaced with a feeling of emptiness. Ali still knew the battle was going on, but she couldn't hear anything.

_Now, stand up_, Aisha commanded.

Slowly, Ali felt her body rise.


	11. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

* * *

"Ali?" Devon cried as Ali turned to face him stiffly, as if she was controlled on strings. Her eyes were wide and glassy, completely empty.

Ali leapt forward and tried to kick Devon in the chest. Devon jumped back out of the way, but he still felt the air brush against his shirt; the strike was close. Ali stumbled slightly, but recovered quickly and went in for another hit. This time, Devon caught Ali's foot just before she struck him in the chest. He shoved her back and away from him and she fell down into a group of aliens.

"Ali, it's me! What's going on?" Devon asked.

Ali got back to her feet. Her mouth curled up into a cruel smile and she opened her mouth to speak, except it wasn't her voice. "Ali is not here anymore."

"You're-you're the Queen, aren't you?" Devon asked.

"The name is Aisha," Ali replied, bowing deeply. "I must say, this is as surprising to you as it is to me; I would have thought that it would be you that I controlled, but, instead, it is Ali."

"Let her go!" Devon demanded.

"No," Ali replied, "She is mine forever now, and you will soon join her."

Ali leapt forward and attempted to open Devon's chest with her nails. Devon jumped back out of the way and called out to Emery. _"What can I do?"_

_You must do something that will break Aisha's control over Ali._

"_How do I do that?"_ Devon asked as he avoided another hit.

_Think about something that would annoy Ali or do something that will make Ali resist you._

"_I think I've got an idea,_ Devon said and then he spoke out loud. "Ali!"

Ali leapt in the air again.

"If you're being controlled, how are you going to kill Ripley?"

Ali dropped in mid-strike directly in front of Devon. Color seemed to return to her eyes, but then the glassy stare came back.

"You are wasting your time; there is no way that she can break free of my control," Aisha said.

"Ali," Devon continued, "You can't fight Ripley if you're like this, you can't kill her if you're being controlled by Aisha."

Ali seemed to be hesitating and Devon was sure that it would work, but then Ali closed her eyes and began to chuckle. She tipped her head back and a dark laugh filled the chamber. "You are so pathetic! Ali is mine forever now! There is nothing you can do to stop me!"

_Maybe she's right,_ Devon thought, _Maybe I can't stop her._

Ali launched forward for another attack and Devon was barely able to avoid it. He realized that he wasn't concentrating on the right thing that would get Ali to break free. He knew now what he needed to say to break Aisha's control.

"I love you Ali!" Devon said.

Once again, Ali paused, but this was a more drawn out pause than before; it was working.

"I know that you don't love me as well, but I just have to confess; I love you with all my heart!"

Ali's body started shaking and she started to take a step forward, but stopped. It seemed like she had gained some control back and was now fighting Aisha with all her might. But Devon was already moving on to the second phase of his plane. He ran towards Ali and tackled her to the ground. Ali stared up at him and her eyes seemed to widen a bit in shock, but Devon was unsure of it was Ali or Aisha. Then, he leaned forward and locked lips with Ali.


	12. Escape

A slap came to his face with enough force to knock him to the ground. Ali jumped up and loomed over Devon who thought, for a moment, that his tactic hadn't worked.

"What the hell was that?!" Ali demanded.

She was back.

"Good to have you back," Devon replied.

"Yeah, yeah, good to be back, but seriously? What the hell was that?" Ali repeated.

"It was the only thing I could think of that could break you free," Devon answered.

"Still, you could have done something else!"

"I tried, but obviously me liking you bugs you more than killing Ripley does."

Aisha hissed in fury at Ali and Devon and they remembered where they were.

"How about we put this conversation on hold until we get this Hive exterminated," Ali said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Devon said.

The two of them turned to face off against the oncoming aliens. The aliens came at them one by one and Devon and Ali took turns taking them down. However, while Devon was going up against an alien, Ali realized that this battle could go on for hours more before they ever had a change of getting to Aisha. With dread, she realized instantly why Aisha was having them attack one by one; if she sent more, Ali and Devon would kill more at a time, but if they only killed one at a time, they would tire out before Aisha ran out of aliens.

"It's getting harder with each alien," Devon added to Ali's suspicion as he finished off his latest alien and moved off.

Aisha let out a hiss, almost as if she agreed. Ali decided to switch to telepathy so that Aisha wouldn't know what they were planning.

"_That's her plan,"_ she said.

"_What are you talking about?"_ Devon asked.

"_If she tires us out before she runs out of aliens, there's a better chance that she can either kill us or capture us."_

"_Good point."_

"_I have a plan, but this is a one time thing; we need to get it right the first time because we won't have another shot."_

"_I'm listening," _Devon replied.

"You're up!" Ali shouted out loud after she had killed the alien in front of her.

"Right!" Devon replied and he jumped forward to face the next alien, however he moved further forward so that he was closer to the alien when it attacked instead of it coming to him. He killed it as quickly as he could and moved back. Ali followed up after him, moving further forward as well. After she was done, she stepped back and Devon took her place. They continued this pattern of moving further and further forward when they would face off against the aliens. With each attack, they moved closer and closer to Aisha.

When Ali was close enough to attack Aisha she called out, "Now!"

Together, Ali and Devon jumped on Aisha. Ali landed on Aisha's back and Devon landed underneath her, near her second pair of arms. Aisha screeched in anger and attempted to grab Devon, but he dodged them while holding on for dear life. He tried to cut into Aisha's thick skin, but he was having too much trouble trying to hold on at the same time.

"_Take your time, Ali, I've got her,"_ Devon said sarcastically after five minutes of avoiding Aisha's arms.

"_I'm a little busy!" _ Ali responded from Aisha's back. Several of the aliens had followed her up and were attempting to knock her off.

"_I can't hold on to her much longer!"_ Devon replied.

"_Just give me five more seconds,"_ Ali replied as she knocked the final alien from Aisha's back.

She moved into position right behind Aisha's crest, where she was most vulnerable and waited. Before long, two more aliens jumped up on the back of their Queen and moved towards Ali. Ali smiled and waited for them to come closer. Suddenly, one of the aliens launched its tail forward, barb aimed at Ali and made an attempt to stab her in the side. But Ali ducked out of the way and the tail punctured the back of the Aisha's head. Aisha hissed in agony and twisted her body around in her throne. There was a loud cracking sound and Ali looked up. The supports holding Aisha up were breaking under the strain of her thrashing.

"Devon, get out from under her!" Ali screamed.

Devon jumped out of the way just as the tendrils broke and Aisha fell to the ground. The angered Queen rose to her feet. There was a loud ripping sound as she pulled herself free of her ovipositor, the liquid cushioning coming out in a rush.

"Devon, move!" Ali cried out, still on top of Aisha's back.

Aisha's tail swept across her back, knocking Ali off and sending her flying across the Hive. She hit her head hard against the wall, causing black stars to jump in front of her eyes. Through the stars, she could see Devon engaging Aisha, and losing.

"Devon," Ali cried weakly and tried to rise to her feet, but her attempt was useless and she fell back against the wall.

Devon dodged another of Aisha's attacks, but he was having difficulty on account to the wound in his shoulder and the slash across his back. Ali tried again to get to her feet and help Devon, and this time she managed to get into a sitting position.

_Ali?_

It was Emery. Her thoughts displayed images of fear and fury.

"_Emery, we're having some difficulty."_

_I know. I have sent many of my best Warriors to get you and Devon out of there. But I want that Queen dead, lure her here._

"_There?!"_

_Here!_

Ali let out a hiss of air in aggravation and jumped to her feet, adrenaline coursing through her body. She darted forward, dodging the aliens that swarmed in to intercept her. She reached Devon just as Aisha's clawed hand arched down towards his chest and quickly placed herself between the Queen and Devon. She screamed as Aisha's claws reopened the wound in her shoulder and pierced through in many places. Aisha's hisses drowned out Ali's screams as she tried to wrench her claws free of Ali, but they were in too deep.

"Get out of here!" Ali said to Devon through clenched teeth.

Devon shook his head. "Not without you!"

Getting up, he grabbed Ali by the shoulders and pulled her hard toward him. She let out another scream of anguish as Aisha's claws exited her shoulder. Aisha screeched in pain and fell back away from Devon and Ali. When she looked down, Ali saw that one of Aisha's claws had broken off, remaining embedded in her shoulder.

Aisha continued to back away while hissing to her aliens. Ali and Devon both raised their heads to see a swarm of Emery's Warriors flood the chamber.

_Get out of there now!_ Emery's voice thundered in both of their heads.

Devon grabbed Ali around the waist and pulled her good arm over his shoulder, helping her hobble toward the Warriors that had just entered. The Warriors waited until Devon and Ali were behind them before making their way slowly back to the exit they had just came through.


	13. The Chase

* * *

The tunnel was empty, no doubt the aliens were with their Queen, awaiting her orders. Halfway through the tunnel, Ali started to feel better and she pulled away from Devon to walk on her own. Not long after that, a light shone through at the end of the tunnel and Ali and Devon, along with the Warriors, hurried towards it. Devon got there first and quickly climbed out.

"Are you okay?" Devon asked as Ali climbed out behind him.

She was clutching her bleeding shoulder with her good hand. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then why are you holding your shoulder like that?" Devon asked, suspicious.

Ali rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to prevent my blood from ruining my one pair of clothes."

"Are you going to be able to make it?" Devon asked.

Before Ali could answer, the wall behind them exploded, sending bits of wood and Hive debris everywhere. Aisha climbed through the giant hole, angry and hissing.

"Let's try it!" Ali shouted.

Luckily, she was able to run well enough, but the Warriors still hung back to distract Aisha long enough for her and Devon to make it back to the Hive. But, even as they ran, Ali and Devon could hear the sounds of the Warriors screeching in pain. They burst out of the abandoned building and tore across the street.

"Ali, look, there," Devon said, pointing ahead.

"What?" Ali asked.

But before Devon could answer, Ali saw what Devon was pointing at; a manhole cover.

"Great idea," Ali said.

Devon ran ahead and pulled the cover off, flinging it aside and jumping through the hole. But, when Ali tried to follow, something caught her braid, yanking at her scalp and stopping her fall. She clutched at the base of her braid, trying to lighten the pain. A hiss sounded from above and Ali glanced up as best she could without causing herself too much pain to see the giant claw pinning her braid to the edge of the manhole. Aisha's giant head loomed over the hole, grinningviciously . The sound of her aliens screeching reached Ali's ears and she knew it wouldn't be long before they came flooding through the hole and overwhelmed her.

"Ali?" Devon called from below.

Ali tried to look down, but it was too painful so she kept her gaze straight in front of her as she responded, "I'm okay, give me a moment."

"What's going on?"

Ali ignored him and looked around her to see if she could dislodge a sharp rock or something to cut through her braid, but the walls of the pipe were completely smoothed down.

"Do you need help?" Devon asked.

Ali huffed in annoyance. "No, I'm good, stop distracting me!"

As Ali shifted her hands to lessen the pain, a different pain flared up on her arm. She lowered her eyes to see the claw that Aisha had lost when she had stuck Ali. Ali grinned and let go of her braid with one hand and gripped the tip of the claw. She squeezed her eyes tightly, getting ready to pull. She took a deep breath and yanked hard. She hissed in pain as the claw tore out of her shoulder. Moving quickly, she slashed with the claw at her braid just above her head. The claw tore easily through her hair and she dropped to the ground swiftly, landing on her feet. Brushing the dirt off her pants, Ali looked up to see Devon giving her a look of shock.

"What?" she asked.

"You cut your hair," Devon said, "You never cut your hair."

"I didn't really have much of a choice," Ali said, touching the severed ends of her hair. The ends were uneven, but she would have to worry about touching it up later.

"Just a thought here," Devon said, looking up through the top of the manhole.

"What?" Ali asked as Aisha screeched above them.

"How are we going to lure Aisha to our Hive if she's up there, and we're down here?"

"They'll follow us."

"Whose 'they'?" Devon asked.

Ali just pointed up to the opening of the manhole. Devon looked up in time to see a swarm of aliens flood through the hole.

Devon nodded slowly. "That would be a good way…"

"Yeah, now let's hurry!" Ali said and she grabbed Devon's hand, pulling him along.


	14. The Precious One

The hallways echoed with the calls of the aliens as they communicated with each other.

"_What do you reckon they're talking about?"_ Devon asked.

"_Probably the best way to lure us into a trap," _Ali said back.

They turned the corner fast and nearly crashed into a small group of kids. The four boys looked at Devon and Ali in shock as they came to a skidding halt.

"Hi," Ali said with a smile.

The boys just stared at her.

"You might want to get inside," David said, "We're trying to run away from killer aliens."

Still, the boys didn't move.

Ali shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself."

She shoved past the boys and started to continue on down the hall, but she stopped when she realized Devon hadn't moved.

"Come on, Devon," Ali said.

"You are seriously going to let those aliens kill these kids?" Devon asked, shocked.

"Yeah, it might slow them down and let us get to the Hive first."

"But they're innocent!"

"Not if they're too dumb to get out of the way!"

Devon looked down at the boys. "I can't leave them."

"I can, but if you can stay here and die with them, be my guest" Ali said.

With that said, she turned around and took off again. Seconds later, she heard the sound of footsteps thudding behind her as Devon followed after her. Not long after that, screams and screeches filled the air.

"It's not right," Devon said once he had caught up with Ali.

"If they had just listened and went inside, they wouldn't have died."

Devon shook his head, trying to shake the image of the boy's faces from his mind.

"Hey!" Ali said.

Devon looked at her. "What?"

"If you keep thinking about them, you're going to die."

"Don't worry about me."

"Whatever."

Ali turned her back on Devon and moved to the ladder that leads to the surface. Devon sighed and followed after her. The tunnel behind them was quiet and Devon had to keep from thinking of the aliens feeding on the bodies of the boys.

When Ali reached the manhole cover, she pushed it up slowly and peeked out. Once she was sure that the coast was clear, she flung the manhole cover out of the way and climbed the rest of the way out of the hole. She waited until Devon had joined her before replacing the cover and walking away.

"So," Devon said, "What was Emery planning on doing when she faced Aisha?"

Ali opened her mouth to answer when, suddenly, a large tail came out of nowhere and knocked both of them off their feet at the same time.

"What the hell?" Devon asked, getting to his feet.

Aisha loomed in front of them, her teeth bared in fury. Ali started to get up too, but dropped back down in pain. She felt her stomach where the tail had hit her; it was the same place where she had been bruised before. Devon looked down quickly and, when he saw Ali still on the ground, he helped her to her feet.

"How did she find us so fast?" Ali asked in a pained voice.

Screeches from inside the tunnel reminded Devon of the aliens chasing them. "She was following from above this whole time. We thought that she would catch up once we had reached Emery, but she was following the alien's thoughts so that she could be waiting for us when we came to the surface."

"Can we get around her?" Ali asked.

Aisha hissed in answer and charged towards them.

"That sounds like a 'no' to me," Devon said.

"Really?" Ali asked sarcastically.

Suddenly, something just as large as Aisha collided into her side, knocking her off balance. A loud screech filled the air, but it wasn't coming from Aisha, it was coming from Emery.

"Emery!" Ali screamed.

_Get out of here! Both of you!_ Emery commanded as she and Aisha circled each other.

"I won't leave you!" Ali shouted in return.

_Devon, get Ali out!_

"No!" Ali shouted as Devon dragged her away, "Emery!"

The two Queens were already locked in a mass of twisting black bodies.

Devon dragged Ali away in the direction of the orphanage and the Hive. The Queen's vanished in a giant, light brown cloud of dust, then, the cloud was gone as Devon turned a corner.

"Let me go!" Ali yelled, fighting Devon with all her might as the sounds of the battle grew further and further away.

"No! Emery told me to get you out."

"But she needs me!"

"She's a Queen!" Devon said.

"She's a young Queen. Aisha has been around for a lot longer than Emery; she has more experience!"

"But Emery is fighting for something that Aisha can't understand," Devon replied.

"What?" Ali asked, still trying to fight.

"You!"

Ali stopped struggling and stared at Devon in shock. "Me?"

"It's true; Emery told me when you were unconscious. She was the one that suggested the counterattack, but not because she wanted to take out the competition for hosts; she did it because Aisha's Warriors had hurt you."

"But—!"

"You are special to Emery; she told me that herself. Because you saved her from the Auriga explosion and you helped her become Queen and start a Hive. You are the most precious thing to Emery."


	15. Sacrifice

Ali sat at the curb in front of the orphanage, her elbows resting on her knees. She had calmed down from her earlier outburst, but Devon paced nearby, throwing glances at her to make sure she didn't try to run back to Emery.

"This is too hard," Ali said, not rising from her spot.

"It's the best we can do right now," Devon replied.

"No it's not, I could be helping Emery."

"I already told you--!"

"If Emery didn't want to lose me, she wouldn't have sent me to the Hive in the first place!"

"You're still precious to Emery and she doesn't want you to get hurt," Devon said.

Ali jumped to her feet, her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. She stood like that for a second longer before doubling over and grabbing her head. She cried out in pain, gripping her head tighter.

"Ali? Ali, are you alright?"

Ali didn't answer at first, the pain searing through her head kept her silent. Suddenly, just as quickly as it came, it vanished.

"Ali? What happened?" Devon asked, coming to her side.

"Emery's…in trouble," Ali answered, getting shakily to her feet.

"Ali, no!" Devon said, already knowing what Ali was planning, "You have to stay here!"

"Emery's in trouble, I'm not going to stay here, hanging around waiting for it all to be over!" Ali said.

"You have to, Emery can't stand to lose you and neither can I," Devon said.

Ali rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't start with that crap again--."

She was cut off as the pain came back, stronger than before. But, despite the pain, Ali was going to help Emery.

"Ali, don't do this!" Devon shouted.

Ali ignored him and the pain as she started walking. A second later, the pain evaporated again and she was able to think straight again. She picked up her pace to a run and raced across the cracked street. Footsteps thudded behind her, but she ignored Devon and picked up her pace.

"Ali, wait!" Devon said.

At the same time, he repeated the command in Ali's head, but she blocked him out and continued running. She didn't even think of her surroundings as her feet pounded across the pavement, she used Emery's thoughts as a guide. Suddenly, the scene came into view, Emery and Aisha were locked together, both pair of arms slashing and tearing at each other. The landscape around them had been trampled into rubble, buildings were crumbling and dirt was being flung in the air. Emery was sporting a gash on her crest as well as an open wound on her back. Aisha, on the other hand, was faring much better, which only infuriated Ali.

But, just before she could reach them, something strong slammed into her side and smashed her into the side of a building. Her shoulder flared in pain as it made contact with the brick wall. But Ali ignored the pain and focused on what had crashed into her. Her first thought was that it had been Devon, but the creature coming toward her was an alien. She felt her insides freeze up; she was in no condition to fight. But then, she realized that the alien was keeping a distance, while keeping its eyeless face glued to her. That was when she knew it was one of Emery's aliens.

"You're against me too?" Ali demanded.

The alien hissed in reply.

Ali groaned, besides the fact that it hurt to move much, she wasn't exactly keen on fighting one of Emery's aliens. But she didn't have a choice, it was obvious that Emery wanted Ali to stay out of the fight, but Ali wasn't going to let anything stop her. The Warrior screeched in surprise when Ali came at it and dodged out of her way. But it wasn't going to let her get away that easily. After recovering from its initial shock, the Warrior came at Ali, swinging its tail. Ali ducked and grabbed its tail. The Warrior screeched as Ali pulled on its tail, yanking it off its feet. She ran past it before it could get back on its feet and made her way to Emery.

"Emery!" Ali called out as she neared the fighting Queens.

But it was Aisha who turned her head. She hissed and wacked Emery with her tail, knocking the younger Queen off balance. However, instead of attacking while Emery was recovering, she turned her back on her and charged toward Ali. Ali came to a skidding halt as Aisha charged toward her.

"Oh shit!" she cried and she spun around.

Ali ran back the way she had come, weaving in and out of the giant piles of rubble. But she knew it wasn't enough to slow Aisha down. The crashing sounds behind her grew louder as Aisha gained.

_Ali?! What are you doing here?_ Emery called as Ali jumped over the crumbled remains of a building.

Ali didn't get a chance to respond as something brushed across her back. The attack wasn't close enough to cause damage, but it made Ali quicken her pace as she tried to outrun the Queen. She took a sudden sharp turn in an attempt, but Aisha seemed to be expecting it and her tail swung out to meet Ali. The air was knocked out of Ali as she was flung back several feet, where she hit the ground and skidded another foot. Fortunately, she had landed on her good shoulder, preventing further damage to her injured shoulder. Groaning, she got slowly to her feet and tried to ignore the pain running up her body. However, a sizzling sound caused her to look down to find the ground at her feet smoking and burning away. Studying her body, she saw that her entire left side was scraped up and bloody and there were several rips in her clothing.

Ali made a small noise of anger, but she wasn't able to dwell on her ruined outfit for too long as Aisha charged towards her. She tried to move, but her body was too beat up and she fell to her knees. She looked up as Aisha drew closer with a clawed hand raised high. Ali closed her eyes. She was too hurt to run, but she wasn't going to give Aisha the satisfaction of seeing her fear so she waited for Aisha to strike. She heard the sound of Aisha making contact and something wet splattered her across the face. There was a loud, piercing shriek of pain and Ali opened her eyes to see that Emery had somehow gotten in front of her. Aisha hissed and stepped back, away from Emery.

The young Queen moaned in pain and she swayed in her place. Ali got to her feet and was able to see clearly the long, deep gash that ran the entire length of Emery's back. Emery swayed one more time before falling flat on her stomach right in front of Ali.


	16. A Moment of Fear

"Emery!" Ali screamed. Adrenaline surged through her body, blocking out all her pain and giving her the strength to rise to her feet.

Emery moved her head weakly to glance at Ali.

_Ali, you should not have come!_ she said.

_"I wasn't going to leave you."_ Ali replied.

_You have no choice,_ Emery replied. She grunted in pain as she lifted her massive body up to once again stand protectively in front of Ali.

Ali started to step out in front of Emery, to present herself to Aisha instead, but a hand suddenly grasped her upper arm before she could move. At that moment Emery ran forward, renewed strength surging through her, and barreled into Aisha. The two vanished into another giant dust cloud as Aisha slammed into the ground. Ali spun around, ready to lash out in anger, but paused when she saw that it was Devon.

"Let me go!" Ali said.

"No, I'm not going to let you get involved in this!" Devon replied.

"You don't understand, I have to help her!"

"Why? What does it prove? That you're the best?!"

"I can't lose another!" Ali shouted. Tears were streaming down her face, not from pain, but from fear. She slowly sank to her knees and her short hair fell around her face, obscuring her features. "I can't lose another," she repeated weakly.

Devon loosened his grip slightly, caught off guard. He had never seen Ali afraid before. From the day he had met her she had always seemed so strong and confident about everything she did. A loud roar interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see the two Queens, still fighting, making their way towards them. Ali seemed oblivious to the approaching fight, her head still down, so Devon grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, we have to move," Devon said.

Ali looked up at Devon and he was shocked to see that her eyes held a deadpan stare.

"Ali?" Devon asked.

She didn't respond. Devon looked up at the approaching Queens and quickly dragged Ali behind a ruined building.

"Ali, snap out of it!" Devon said, shaking Ali's shoulders.

"Aglaia," Ali said softly.

"What?"

"Yes, Aglaia, I'm here," Ali said.

"Ali, what are you talking about?"

"Aglaia, I don't know what to do."

"Ali, please stop, you're freaking me out!"

Ali looked up at Devon, but her eyes were still distant. "Aglaia."

"Ali, who is Aglaia?" Devon asked.

"I am here, my Queen."

Devon let out a sigh of frustration and looked away. He knew what was going on now: Ali's mind seemed to have snapped. He remembered a time when they were still young, he was twelve and Ali was thirteen, when she told him her past dealings with Ripley and her hatred to her. She told Devon how her life had changed for the better when she had meet her Queen-she had never mentioned a name-and her favorite alien, Timothy, until Ripley came along and ruined her life. Ali then went on to explain that, even after she lost her Queen, she thought the Queen was still with her, talking to her and guiding her. Ali admitted that it was a dark time for her, how she had felt so alone and lost that she had just imagined her Queen again so that she didn't have to be alone.

"Ali, please snap out of it!"

He looked in the direction of the fighting Queens, but they were nowhere to be seen, the sounds of their fight had died away.

_Devon? Where are you?_

It was Emery.

"_Emery! What happened?"_

_Where are you?_ Emery repeated.

Devon noticed then that Emery's voice sounded weak. _"We're behind a building, but I don't know where it is in relation to you."_

_Send me an image,_ Emery said.

Devon looked at his surroundings and closed his eyes, sending the images to Emery. _"Something's wrong with Ali,"_ he added, _"I think she's returned to the state she was in after her Queen died. She keeps talking to someone called Aglaia."_

_That was her Queen, the one Ripley killed,_ Emery said.

"_Yeah, but I think she thinks she's still alive."_

_She spoke of this event in the past,_ Emery said, _Do not worry, I am almost there._

"_What about Aisha?"_

_She has been taken care of._

Devon didn't say anything more, it was obvious that it was taking all of Emery's strength just to walk and the more she talked, the weaker her voice sounded. A few seconds later, Emery appeared around the corner of the building. She had a large crack in her crest, was bleeding in several places, and limping slightly because of the large gash on her leg.

"Emery," Devon said out loud as he took in his Queen's appearance.

_Where is Ali?_ Emery asked.

"Right here," Devon pointed and looked down at Ali.

She was staring up at Emery with a strange expression, her eyes still glazed over.

_Ali? Can you hear me?_ Emery asked.

"Yes, Aglaia," Ali replied.

Emery hissed in surprise.

"_I told you, she thinks Aglaia is still alive,"_ Devon added.

_Be quiet!_ Emery snapped, turning toward him and shooting her second mouth out, nearly striking Devon in the face. Devon closed his mouth and looked down.

Emery hissed and turned her attention back to Ali.

"Aglaia, I did it," Ali said, still looking at Emery, "I planted the third stage in Ripley's chest. She's going to die giving birth to the thing she hates most in the world!"

_Ali, I am not Aglaia,_ Emery said.

"And Hicks was born. Remember Hicks? You helped me name him," Ali said, giving no indication that she had heard Emery.

_Ali,_ Emery said.

Devon opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when Emery threw a glance at him.

"Aglaia, you--," Ali started to say before stiffening.

Devon was about to ask what happened, when the world around him vanished. He stared around in shock before remembering the time when he had first met Emery and she had shown him memories that he had forgotten. He focused on what was going on around him and saw two men standing over a hypersleep chamber, talking about its contents. It took Devon a second to realize that it was Ali inside the chamber. Just then, one of the men moved off, while the other stayed by the sleep chamber. Suddenly, a Warrior leapt forward and struck the man in the back, killing him. The Warrior turned back to the chamber and broke the controls, causing the chamber to open. Ali appeared and crawled out of the chamber, using the Warrior for support.

The scene faded and was replaced with a much smaller ship. Devon looked to his right to see Ali and the Warrior from before, hiding out as the small ship was rocketed by thermals. The Warrior was pressed close to Ali, trying to steady her against the rocketing ship. A second later, the thermals stopped and the ship came to a complete stop. Ali and the Warrior waited for the two people below to leave before jumping to the ground. Ali paused, while the Warrior hissed eagerly.

"I know I promised myself I wouldn't name one of you ever again, to prevent myself from hurting again, but I can't help myself. Your name will be Emery."

Devon's mouth dropped open in shock. He was wondering who the Warrior was that was with Ali, but it didn't occur to him that it was Queen Emery. He then wondered how Emery had become a Queen. Suddenly, the world turned black around him and the destroyed building came into view again. He took a deep breath when he was back in reality and shook his head slightly.

_Ali?_

Devon looked up to see Emery crouched close to Ali, screeching with concern. Devon looked down at Ali, but his heart sank when he saw that her eyes were still glassy.

"E—E—mery?"

Ali started blinking rapidly and, with each blink, the glassy look in her eyes started to vanish. She raised her eyes up to Emery and focused on her.

"Emery?" Ali asked again, finally recognizing the Queen.

Emery started screeching with happiness and lowered her massive body closer to Ali. Ali raised her arms up to Emery, like a little child wanting her mommy, and wrapped her arms around the Queen's neck. Emery hooked Ali with her tail and gently swung her up and around behind her crest. Ali let out a sigh and curled up behind Emery. Devon caught sight of Ali's face and noticed the tears streaming silently down her face.


	17. Finding Ripley

* * *

Ali opened her eyes. It took a moment for the memories of the other day to come back to her. She remembered feeling fear for the second time in her life when Emery's life was threatened. Then there was a blank part in her memory where she couldn't remember anything that had happened. Next thing she knew, she was looking up at the beaten and scratched body of Emery. Emery then carried her back to the Hive where Ali slept off her injuries from her own fight with Aisha.

Ali sighed and pushed herself up. A strand of hair fell down in front of her face, reminding her about what she had done. She sighed again and looked around for a sharp instrument. There was a hiss and a Warrior moved closer to Ali, dropping a pair of shiny shearing scissors at Ali's feet. Ali smiled and picked up the scissors. She liked it when Warriors knew what she would need before she needed it and were able to get whatever it was for her. She wiped the slime off with the hem of her pants and started to fix the uneven strands of hair.

After a couple of minutes of snipping here and there, Ali was done. Her bangs were long and sat on either side of her face, coming down to about mid-way on her neck. The rest in the back was shorter, only coming down to the line where her hair and neck met. She was only slightly upset with how her hair had turned out, she had always liked it long, but she guessed that she would have to wait for it to grow back out.

Devon walked by Ali just as she was handing the scissors back to the Warrior, meeting her gaze.

"I want to speak with you upstairs," he said.

Ali looked to Emery, already healed from her own fight with Aisha and back up on her throne, with a look of confusion. Emery hissed and nodded her head.

_I think you will want to hear what he has to say,_ she said.

Ali sighed and stood up, walking up the stairs and after Devon. For a while, she couldn't find him, but after a while of just wandering around, she eventually found him in one of the upstairs dorms near a window. It was day out, so sunlight streamed in through the grimy window and illuminating Devon's entire body.

"What did you want?" Ali asked.

Devon turned his head to face her. For a moment he didn't say anything, then, "I want to help you."

"What do you mean? We already took care of Aisha," Ali replied.

Devon shook his head. "No, I want to help you find Ripley."

"Why would you want to do that? You've never had an interest in helping me before," Ali said.

"I know, but I had been thinking during your recovery, maybe if Ripley was gone, you could finally move on and think about other things."

"Like you?"

"No, not me," Devon said, "I just want you to be happy and you never will be if Ripley is still alive; she'll be all you think about."

Ali thought for a moment, looking down at the ground. "You do have a point."

"So will you let me help?"

"Sure, I don't see why not."

There was a moment of silence, then Devon spoke, "Do you want to go now?"

Ali shrugged. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do."

Devon nodded and moved away from the window. Ali turned around also and walked through the door, down the stairs, and outside.

"We're not taking any Warriors with us?" Devon asked as Ali continued to walk down the bright street.

"No, I don't want to see any of them die, not at the hands of Ripley," Ali said.

"Alright, well, where do you want to start?"

"I don't know, I never really have a precise location, I just wander around."

"Well, let's think about this then. Ripley wouldn't want to go that far from a certain area, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ali said.

Devon started pacing, staring at the ground. "Right, well, where would she want to stick close to? What does she think is safe?"

Ali's eyes suddenly brightened. "I know!"

"Where?" Devon asked, looking up.

"The _Betty_!" Ali said. "I never actually thought about it before, but it makes sense!"

"Okay, where is it?"

"It's been a while since I've been there," Ali said and she started walking in a general direction and Devon jogged to catch up.

They walked for a few more minutes in silence before a giant ship structure came into view on the horizon.

"That it?" Devon asked.

"Yes," Ali said. She wrinkled her nose. "Do you smell that?"

Devon sniffed the air, picking up the faint scent. It was a strange scent; mainly human with a hint of Warrior blood. "Yeah. Is that Ripley?"

Ali smirked. "Yes, I've been tracking that scent for a long time."

Devon nodded and started to walk forward. "Let's get this over with!"

Ali's hand suddenly shot out and caught Devon by the arm in a tight grip. Devon turned over his shoulder to look at Ali.

"I need you to promise me something," she said.

"What?"

"Ripley is mine, you leave her to me!"

"Okay," Devon said and tried to pull away, but Ali didn't let go.

"Promise me!" she said, her grip tightening.

"Okay, okay, I promise I'll leave Ripley to you!" Devon said.

Ali let go and started walking. Devon stayed still, rubbing the spot on his arm where Ali's vice-like grip had held him.

"You coming?" Ali called back to him.

"Yeah," Devon replied and he hurried to catch up.


	18. The Battle

* * *

Ali moved into the cargo hold of the ship, Devon following right behind her. She sniffed the air and was immediately overwhelmed with Ripley's scent. She nodded to Devon and the two of them split up, moving around the wall of the cargo hold and toward the door that lead to the rest of the ship. Ali looked down, searching for a large, blunt object, and eventually found what looked like a monkey wrench. She picked it up and caught Devon's gaze, giving him a questioning glance. He took a deep breath and nodded. Ali returned the nod and threw the wrench as hard as she could at a wall. The wrench struck the wall with a loud clang and fell to the ground with an equally loud clatter.

"What was that?" someone nearby asked.

Ali ducked quickly into her hiding space and waited. A second later, Call appeared, carrying a flashlight. She entered the cargo hold, walking right past Ali, and moved deeper into the hold. Ali ducked through the doorway while Devon moved closer to Call.

"Ripley?" Call called.

Ali quickly ducked behind a wall as footsteps grew louder. She had to fight with all her strength in order to keep from attacking Ripley right then and there, but she had another mission she had to complete first. The moment Ripley was past her, Ali continued on down through the hallway, searching for Vriess, he was her target. She heard him whistling before she saw him and as she rounded the corner she saw that his back was to her. With a smile, Ali jumped forward and grabbed his head, twisting it sharply left and right until it cracked and went limp. With another grin, Ali grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him back to the cargo hold.

Ripley's and Call's voices grew louder as Ali reached the cargo hold. Apparently they were trying to figure out how the wrench reached its current location. Ali stepped into the doorway way of the cargo hold and cleared her throat. She watched with interest as Ripley and Call spun around to face her.

"Hey," Ali said, "Long time, no see."

"Ali," Ripley said.

"Ripley," Ali replied, grinning.

Call's eyes moved down to Vriess's body before glaring at Ali. "You monster!"

"Yes, I am, aren't I?" Ali said with a laugh.

"How did you find us?" Ripley asked.

"It took a while; I'll tell you that," Ali said, "You are a very hard person to track."

"That was kind of the point."

"Of course it was, and if I were in your position I would be doing the same thing. But, unfortunately for you, I was able to figure it out."

"You really think you can take the two of us on at once?" Ripley asked, cocking her head.

"No, I wasn't planning on it," Ali replied, "And even though Vriess was just a lump that would get in my way, I thought I would still even the playing field."

"What are you talking about?" Call asked.

"You didn't think that I would be the _only_ one of my kind, did you?!"

Ripley didn't answer, but her mouth gaped open in shock.

"There are no more of you!" Call said, "The files I looked at only talked about you and Ripley."

"Well those files didn't look too carefully at Earth, did they?" Ali asked.

"So what do you want?" Ripley asked.

"What do you think?!" Ali demanded, "I want to kill you once and for all, Ripley!"

That was Devon's cue; he shot out of his hiding place as Ali threw Vriess's body at Ripley and Call. The two ducked out of the way and did just the thing Ali was hoping for; they separated. Ali moved toward Ripley as Devon moved toward Call, pulling out a knife as he did. But, suddenly, Call dodged out of Devon's way and jumped in front of Ali.

"_Ali?"_ Devon asked nervously as Ripley faced him.

"_Nothing we can do about it now, just kill her!" _Ali said.

She stopped talking, then, as Call's fist swung at her head. She easily dodged the attack, moving underneath Call's arm and then spinning around so that she was directly behind Call. She delivered a swift kick to Call's back and sent the android flying into the wall.

"You should have died, Call," Ali taunted Call, "When Wren shot you in the chest."

"Shut up!" Call said, as she got to her feet.

"And you know what else? Ripley's murderous _baby_ should have killed you as well!"

"Stop it!" Call shouted.

Ali smiled. "But now, I'm going to be the one to finally finish the job!"

Ali took another swing at Call, who ducked out of the way to avoid it and ran for cover. Ali followed after her, glancing around for Devon as she did.

Devon was off at the other end of the cargo hold. He was using his knife to slash at Ripley, but she was dodging pretty well so far. Suddenly, Devon kicked the wrench that Ali had thrown at Ripley and it hit her in the foot. She stumbled without falling, but her distraction was enough to allowing Devon to get in a direct attack. Ripley looked at Devon in shock as the blood ran down her cheek. She touched it with the tips of her fingers and looked at the blood before looking up at Devon. A smile started to creep onto Devon's face and Ali realized that he was acting differently. There was a strange gleam in his eyes and the smile that had now formed was dark and sinister.

Suddenly, he launched forward towards Ripley, slashing left and right with the knife. Ripley stumbled backwards, not having any time to recover. Blood was flowing freely now from several gashes on her body. She kept backing up, trying to get away, but Devon kept moving forward and continued slashing. Finally, Ripley stumbled over something and crashed the ground. Devon paused as he stood over Ripley, the knife posed over her heart. Ali could see the old Devon returning as he stared down in horror at the defenseless Ripley.

Ali growled angrily as Devon's arm started to relax. Her hand shot out quickly to catch Call's upper arm, twisting it around her back so that Call was forced to her knees in pain. Now that Call was unable to launch a surprise attack on her, Ali turned her head back to Devon. He had completely relaxed his grip on the knife and was holding it at his side.

"Devon!" Ali screamed, "Kill her!"

Devon's body stiffened and his flexed his grip on the handle of the knife. "I can't, Ali, I can't take her life!"

"Do it now!" Ali shouted.

Devon's body was shaking now and he spun around. "I can't--!" he started to say but was abruptly cut off.

"No!"

With a look of shock, Devon glanced down at his stomach and at the tip of the knife that was sticking out of it. He looked back at Ripley to see that she was standing behind him, a look of triumph on her face. She pulled the knife back out and tossed it aside as it started to sizzle and melt. Devon fell to his knees, clutching the wound.

"Devon!" Ali shouted.

Devon looked up to see Ali twisting Call's neck sharply and then running towards him, but the pain was darkening his vision and he fell forward into the ground.


	19. Locked Away Emotions, The End

* * *

Devon opened his eyes and saw himself staring at the roof of the Hive.

"About time you woke up," a voice said darkly.

Devon sat up and looked around. The Hive was empty except for Emery who was perched on her throne, watching Devon with a blank stare, but she wasn't the one who had spoken. Devon looked around for Ali, but couldn't find her.

"Ali? Where are you?" he asked.

There was silence, and then Ali came out of the shadows. She wasn't wearing the black pants and halter top anymore, instead, she was wearing a long black dress with quarter length sleeves. Her face, arms, and hands were caked with dried blood and her eyes were narrowed and dark with anger.

"Ali, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong, Devon?" Ali asked. Her voice soft but deadly, but then, she exploded and started yelling, "I'll tell you what's wrong, Devon! You almost jeopardized my chance to kill Ripley!

Devon flinched at the harshness in Ali's voice. "Look I'm sorry, okay? What did you want me to do?"

"What did I want you to do?!" Ali repeated, "I wanted you to kill her!"

"I couldn't, I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it! If I knew that you were going to chicken out like you usually do I would have just left you here and taken care of them all myself!"

"Ali, please, I'm sorry!"

"No, I don't want to hear it, in fact, I don't want to see your face!" Ali shouted, "I don't want a weakling like you here anymore!"

"But--!"

"Get out!" Ali shouted.

Devon stared at her with a mixture of hurt and shock. He didn't move for a while before turning and walking slowly toward the exit. Ali watched him leave, silent and furious, her hands clenched into fists and her body shaking. Emery remained silent too while Devon left and didn't speak until she was sure he had left the building.

_You think you were too hard on him?_ she asked.

"No," Ali said, moving away from where she was standing and sat beneath Emery.

_Why are you treating him like this?_

"Because he's weak," Ali responded.

_Is that the real reason?_

"Of course, I can't stand people who show signs of weakness or who rely on those feeble human emotions."

_Really?_

"Yes!"

_Then what do you have to say about the emotions you feel?_

"What are you talking about?"

_Do not play innocent with me, Ali, your thoughts are not hidden from me._

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Emery hissed above Ali. _The emotion that prompted you to leap to Devon's rescue is the same one that I have sensed in you from the moment you introduced the boy to me._

"Oh yeah?! What is it?" Ali demanded.

_Love,_ Emery stated simply, _You love that boy._

"No I don't, I swore to myself I would never feel human emotions ever!"

_But you are not immune to them. Ali, you are more human than you let yourself believe._

"What do you know about humans? What makes you think I'm like _them_?!" her voice was rising in pitch as her anger grew.

Emery remained calm as she replied, _I see every thought of my victims when the third stage is growing in their bodies. I know their thoughts and their fears and believe me, Ali, you are not so different from them._

"That's not true! There is no way that I'm similar to them! Besides, feeling emotions like love just weaken you and slow you down!"

Emery's hisses vibrated with her laughter. _Ali, you silly child! You still believe that?_

"Yes! Because it's true!"

_You are wrong. Emotions make one stronger, they make you better. Tell me this, what was running through your head when you saved Devon?_

"I don't know; a long anger that I've felt towards Ripley, the thoughts of seeing revenge fulfilled, joy --,"

_What else?_

"Nothing."

_Do not lie to me!_ Emery's voice thundered with fury in Ali's head,_ Search your heart!_

Ali groaned in aggravation, but closed her eyes, thinking about her emotions when she killed Ripley. There were defiantly anger and revenge that steamed most of her emotions, but there was another, stranger, emotion that she couldn't quite figure out. It took her a moment to think, but she started to figure it out, part of the anger she had felt was because she had thought Devon was hurt and she felt concern_because _Devon had been hurt.

"_What is that feeling?"_ Ali asked herself.

_Love,_ Emery replied.

Ali looked up at Emery, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. "I love him." she said.

Emery hissed gently. _Yes, you do._

"What should I do? I already sent him away!"

_Go after him._

Ali wiped her eyes and stood up. She ran up the stairs of the basement and flew quickly through the halls. She knew that Devon had probably left the building so she continued running. When she burst out the doors she was nearly blinded by the setting sun, which was just about to sink behind the horizon. She looked to her left and then to her right, spotting a dark shape moving slowly, with hunched shoulders.

"Devon, wait!" she shouted and she tore after him.

Devon paused and turned around, staring at Ali as she ran towards him.

"Devon," Ali said as soon as she was in earshot of him, "Devon, wait."

She came to a halt a foot away from Devon and immediately looked at the ground.

"Ali?" Devon asked.

Ali opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She closed her mouth and tried again. Devon didn't know what to do or say; he could only stare at Ali. When she still didn't say anything, he started to turn.

"Wait," Ali said again.

Devon turned back around to see that Ali had lifted her head. He was also shocked to see that she had tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry, Devon," Ali said, "I'm really sorry."

"What for?"

"You know what!" Ali said, "For everything; for calling you weak and for kicking you out."

"Hey, its okay, I understand," Devon said, "I'm just not strong enough for your tastes."

"No, that's not it at all," Ali said, "I--."

"What?"

Ali took a deep breath. "Devon, I--."

"It's okay, just tell me."

Ali looked to the ground. "DevonIlikeyou." She spoke so fast that her words blurred together.

"What?" Devon asked, confused.

Ali took a deep breath and tried again. "I like you."

She looked up to see Devon staring at her in shock. His mouth was gaped open slightly and his eyes were wide.

"I know that I've never admitted it before and I know that I said human emotions were weak, but Emery made me realize that I really do like you and that I was just hiding my feelings because I was afraid to fall in love--."

Devon smiled as Ali continued to ramble and reached a hand up to her face and gently place a kiss on Ali's lips, cutting her off. She was so shocked by the kiss that she could only stand rigid, her eyes open wide. Then, as she started to realize that she felt comfortable in Devon's embrace, she relaxed and returned the kiss, closing her eyes as she did. A gentle breeze blew by and Ali opened her eyes. Devon's hair was flying around his face, giving him a disheveled appearance. The sinking sun cast dark shadows over his face, strengthening certain features that Ali realized she liked.

She pulled away from the kiss and asked, "Will you stay with me?"

Devon smiled and pressed his lips to Ali's forehead. "Yes."


End file.
